This invention related to a method and apparatus for winding wire and other strands onto spools and more particularly relates to a method and apparatus for winding an advancing strand onto a spool having out-turned truncated conical end flanges.
In the winding of wire onto a rotating spool having tapered or out-turned truncated conical end flanges, it is well known to guide the wire onto the spool with a reciprocating wire traverse guide which moves with strokes of increasing length as wire builds up on the spool. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,254,221, 3,170,650, 3,413,834 and 4,130,249 each disclose machines for winding wire onto spools with tapered flanges which include means for widening the limits of traversing movements in response to build up of wire on the spools. In the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 2,254,221, the distance of traverse movement is controlled with a switch actuating lever which upon physical engagement with the spool end flanges effects a reversal of the traverse device. The traverse reversing mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,650 is controlled by a follower roller arranged to engage wire wound on the spool and effective to increase the distance of traverse movement in response to build up of wire on the spool. In the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,834, the reversal points of the traverse guide are controlled by a timer which is effective to incrementally increase the movement limits of the traverse guide after a fixed period of time corresponding to a selected number of traverse movements. A counter counting the revolutions of the spool is employed in the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,249 for reversing the direction of movement of the wire traverse guide when the count reaches a predetermined number which is incrementally increased a given amount each time the movement of the traverse guide undergoes a given number of reversals.
With the greatly increased use of taper flange spools in recent years, a need has arisen for a simple and versatile wire spooling machine capable of winding wire on spools of varying sizes ranging from small sizes to large sizes accommodating as much as 450 kilograms. Such a wire spooling machine should also be readily adaptable to winding wire of varying sizes and winding properties on spools differing in end flange taper angles and in flange-to-flange distances. Prior wire winding machines of the types described above are generally of a complex nature requiring substantial set-up times for adjusting and changing stops, limit switches, pinions or the like for each different size of wire or for winding wire on each different size of spool. Although the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,249 is of less complexity, it suffers from the disadvantage that it does not automatically compensate for variations in the size of the wire or other parameters affecting fill of the wire on the spool such as wire tension, turns per centimeter, or different wire lubricities, all of which can affect the apparent density of the wire on a spool.
A new type of wire spooling machine which overcomes many of the drawbacks of prior wire spooling machines is described in applicant's co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 439,707, filed Nov. 8, 1982 and now abandoned. In the spooling machine described in this application, the wire traverse guide is reciprocated relative to the spool at a linear speed proportional to the speed of advancement of the wire as it is wound onto a spool. The end limits of reciprocation of the wire traverse guide are established in relation to reference positions corresponding to what would be apices of the respective spool end flanges if the latter were not truncated. These end limits are established by simply winding outward of each reference position a number of wire turns having a selected value dependent upon the angularity of the end flanges and the ratio of the wire guide speed and the wire advancement speed. In the manufacture of wire and other strand products, however, it is often advantageous to take up a wire or the like with a spooling machine having a wire guide reciprocated at a linear speed proportional to the rotational velocity of the spool rather than at a speed proportional to the speed of wire advancement so that the wire can be continuously taken up on the spool in closely spaced helical turns during each traverse movement of the wire guide.